Many things Monday

1. I ran 7 miles on Sunday, and it was pretty awesome! It was just slightly cooler (still ridiculously hot and humid, but less so), and it felt so much better. Come on, Fall!

2. Also, after much discussion on Sunday, I decided to replace my February half marathon (St. Pete Rock 'n' Roll, which was cancelled) with a Gasparilla race. The Gasparilla Distance Classic consists of four races: a 15K and a 5K on Saturday and a half marathon and 8K on Sunday. The logical choice would be to replace the half with a half. But, I'm illogical ... and I really want a jacket. So, to get a jacket, I need to do a challenge. The plan: 15K and 8K (Bud Select Challenge). I really like half marathons and kind of want to throw that into the mix, too. Or maybe I'll just find another half (after I win the lottery).

3. I watched a lot of football this weekend. I even planned some activities around football games. Hopefully, this is just an NFL opening weekend thing because it could get kind of ridiculous. Well, I'm fairly certain I won't be watching the Tampa Bay Bucs anymore, so that's one less game each week.

4. But, my watching of football allowed me to see this.

5. EEEEEK! I just love this guy. I really need to chill out on him, though, so I don't become crazy-annoying fangirl. Sometimes I find myself telling myself, "Stop it. Not everyone wants to hear about Bruno. Not everyone thinks he's the best thing ever." So, after this mention, I'll lay off of him for awhile. Unless I win the trip to see him in Vegas. Or London. Or if he's on an awards show. Or if I dress up as Elvis for Halloween because that's something we have in common. But, other than that, I'll restrain myself (and the masses few people who read my blog rejoiced). 

6. Did you see the rerun of the Saturday Night Live that Bruno Mars hosted this weekend ... oops.

7. My dog's favorite thing ever is walks. Well, maybe walks are behind Milkbones, but they're a close second. She loves them. So imagine my surprise when she sat down and refused to walk. Stubborn dog. I have no idea where she gets that from, ahem. 

You think I'm moving? Funny.

Have you ever gotten a jacket for a race? I haven't, and I'm super excited about it! Did you watch a lot of football this weekend? If not, what did you do?

Looking back and ahead

I finally organized my  "Upcoming races" and "Race results" pages. My upcoming races make me excited. I really love running half marathons, and I can't wait to start in October (in a costume)! But, it really made me sad because it doesn't have the St. Pete Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon on it. I received the news on Wednesday that one of my favorite races is cancelled. I'm still sad about it, but it's time to find another February half marathon.

Some options:

• Best Damn Race, Feb. 1, 2014: I'm already signed up for the 10K (because I love this race), but I'm thinking about upgrading to the half. For anyone interested in this race (and you all should be), there is currently a discount code, ROCKROLL, for $5 off. It is active until Sept. 17.

One of the best damn races from 2013

• Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans, Feb. 2, 2014: I love Rock 'n' Roll, and I adore New Orleans. This seems like the perfect combination. Well, except for the fact that I live in Florida. And the fact that it's the day after the Best Damn Race that I'm already registered to run. But, if I could swing one of my favorite race series in one of my favorite cities, it would be pretty sweet! 
• Gasparilla Distance Classic, Feb. 23, 2014: I've never run this race, and I hear good things ... but something keeps me from really wanting to do it. I'm not sure what it is. Maybe because I work a few blocks from the start line, and I want to keep my weekends away from work? I don't know. 

I'm not ready to make a decision yet (or say goodbye to Rock 'n' Roll St. Petersburg), but I do have some quality options when I am ready to move on.

While the "Upcoming races" page made me excited, the "Race results" page made me kind of sad/mad/determined. I was kind of upset looking at my half marathon times for the past year. I don't want to sound whiny or overlook accomplishments (because I did get a personal best, and I did run eight half marathons). But, I really think I could of and should of done better. So, that's what my goal is for this half marathon training cycle: become a faster half marathon-running turtle. 

How am I going to do that? Good question. I'm still working on that. But, I am going to start posting about my training weeks again. I need to see how I'm doing and for accountability. And, I'm going to get serious about some cross training. And, I'm going to work on silencing that pesky voice in my head that says, "I can't." I think that will do it. 

Have you ever run any of these races? What do you recommend? Have any other races for me to consider? Any tips for getting faster?

Season 2: recap

No half marathons on the schedule until October. It makes me kind of sad until I attempt to run in temperatures that rival the surface of the sun.

Since I’m not able to run nearly as far now (thanks, Florida heat), I’m just going to reminisce about this season of half marathons.

This was my second training cycle for half marathons. I was completely new to running the first season (2011-2012) and was happy just to finish. My first season only consisted of two races:

• Women’s Half Marathon: 2:48:26
• Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Petersburg Half Marathon: 2:33:39

I was completely disappointed in my first attempt, and I’m pretty surprised I kept running after it. It was pretty miserable (mainly because of the heat that isn’t supposed to be around in November), but I felt like I redeemed myself at the Rock ‘n’ Roll race. That was the race I knew I had in me. That’s the way it was supposed to happen. 

So, looking to this season, I knew I couldn’t have a 15-minute personal record (PR) each time, but I wondered if I could hit 2:25. I never publicly proclaimed this goal, but I thought I could do it.

• Halloween Halfathon:2:42:48
• Women’s Half Marathon: 2:45:33
• Holiday Halfathon: 2:41:10

(At this point, I really wondered if 2:33 was a fluke. I wondered if I’d ever see the 2:30s again.)

• Clearwater Halfathon: 2:38:29

(I started feeling more confident after this difficult course, and I felt like a PR was in my future.)

• Carnival Classic Half Marathon: 2:30:54

(I decided to do this race while on a high from the previous race. As in, sitting down right after the race and registering on my phone. Hello, PR!)

• Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon: 2:33:54
• Florida Beach Halfathon: 2:31:44
• Iron Girl Half Marathon: 2:48:35

So, 2:25 didn’t happen. Even 2:2X didn’t happen. While I’m a little disappointed, I still see lots of things to be happy about:

• I ran eight half marathons!
• I’m confident in my running abilities. I don’t worry about finishing anymore. I know I can.
• I even got pretty confident about being able to finish in the 2:30s by the end of the season (aside from the hot, nasty Iron Girl incident).
• I came up with some pretty rockin’ costumes for races.
  
  

• I fell even more in love with the half marathon distance. It’s my favorite, always and forever.
• Oh, and even though these aren’t half marathons, I did run and PR these distances during this training cycle: 5K (by 3:11) and 10K (by 1:21)).

So, now what?

Well, I have a break until August when half marathon training begins again. But, it’s not a break from running – just a break from running the longer distances. I’m sticking with my training group (last year I took a break from it, and while I continued running on my own, I just don’t push myself enough; I felt like I had to start over again when I picked back up in August). And, I’m adding in some new things to shake things up: boot camp (eek!) and yoga (eek!). 

Do you set race goals? Do you publicly proclaim your goals? How did you do this season? What do you do in the off season to prepare for races? Have you done a boot camp? Yoga?

Iron Girl Half Marathon, Clearwater, Florida, April 14, 2013: race recap

Oh, Iron Girl Half Marathon. You made me nervous from the beginning. I worried about your mid-April race date and the set of two bridges I'd need to go over twice. Yeah, you had the potential to be a sweaty, hard mess.

Guess what? You were.

This was the most difficult half marathon I've ever run. I ran an extremely similar course in January, but it was, oh, 15 degrees cooler or so.

Race day was Sunday. GAH!

When we arrived a little after 6 a.m., we could feel the heat (and the humidity).

Me (and my shiny, sunblock face) and my running buddy, Lori

I was already really nervous for some reason (well, I guess that reason was the heat and humidity), and I really, really wanted to drop to the 5K (I don't even know that I could at that point, but it was fun to think about). You know I had to be super-duper nervous if I wanted to switch to the 5K. That is definitely not my favorite distance.

My nerves hit hard. After running seven half marathons this race season, you'd think that would have gone away by now (my last of the season). I think I was more nervous for this half than almost any before (even after training for half marathons since August and doing bridge-specific training for this race). I'm an irrational girl.

But, shortly, I found myself lining up for the half marathon start.

Mile 1 was difficult. It includes running up a gigantic bridge, and I felt the sweat quickly after beginning. I am proud to say that we did run up this entire thing.

The downhill and following miles made things seem a little better. Still hot, but manageable.

When anyone asked about my goal for this race, I said: "Just survive." I wasn't going for a specific time (neither was Lori, thank goodness), so we just wanted to complete this thing and end on a positive note.

We stopped at every water stop. Not stopping was not an option.

We ran up that second monster bridge before mile 5, and I think it was worst than the first, but we ran up the entire way. Woo-hoo.

Around mile 5, Lori stopped for a restroom break (in a nice beach restroom — good move on her part). We kept moving along after, but we felt like something weird happened after that bathroom break. Our Garmin watches were showing us hitting miles a little bit ahead of the mile marker before that point (pretty typical with some dodging and weaving and not following the course exactly). After that break, our watches were way behind the mile markers (like 0.1 to 0.2 miles behind).

This made my head hurt. I could not figure it out. I assumed it had something to do with the restroom stop, but I couldn't figure out why. Then, I assumed it must be because it was cloudy, and our GPS must have lost the signal for a bit. But, for the rest of the race, we'd see a mile marker, and our watches wouldn't hit that mile mark for another 0.1 to 0.2 miles. Really strange.

We took a gel at mile 6, and honestly, I don't remember much after this point. We kept running, and we kept getting hotter.

Unfortunately, the course is an out-and-back, so we had to go back over the bridges on our way to the finish. The second time around, we walked up both of them. Having a bridge at mile 12 is incredibly cruel, but it was nice to have a downhill to the finish.

My finish time: 2:48:35. Yes, that is my worst finish by nine seconds.

But, I really wasn't upset about it. I didn't have a goal, and I wanted to end on a positive note, and I did. I had fun despite the heat and the big bridges.

The race atmosphere was incredible, and it was so well organized. The water stops were plentiful. And, despite the heat and bridges, I loved it.

My previous worst time was a bitter, bitter half marathon. I'm surprised I continued running after that disaster. And, I totally didn't feel that way after this race, thank goodness.

It was fun meeting up with and seeing so many friends at this race. I finally got to meet this awesome girl. And, we found some of our running group friends after the race for photo ops.

With Christine, who rocked out the 5K (Please excuse my hair.
It gets fluffy with the humidity and sweat.)

We have Iron Cores.

After the photo ops, we hit up the food.

Yes, pancakes with bananas and a few chocolate chips.

Then, realized we forgot a photo.

I had to get out of my sweaty, nasty shirt at this point.

Our running group all wore the same shirts: peace, love, run symbols on the front and "Sole Sistahs Rockin' Blistahs" on the back. (I avoided the butt photo by being a sweaty, nasty mess, thank goodness.)

After all of this sweatiness, I needed steaming hot coffee. Yum.

This half marathon was my worst time-wise, but not attitude-wise. I managed to have fun, and I felt pretty good for what I accomplished on this day.

Is attitude more important than time? How did you feel when you got your worst time at a race? Did anyone else who ran Iron Girl come up with a short course (or is that just me — my watched showed 12.9 miles at the finish)?

Florida Beach Halfathon, Tierra Verde, Florida, March 17, 2013: race recap

I feel like this could be the simplest race recap ever. I woke up early. I ran a half marathon. I got a medal. I drank green beer. I came home.

It was just kind of a blah race for me. That says nothing bad about the race itself. I loved the race, the medal, the green beer, everything. But, my race was kind of non-eventful, which on one hand is good (no major meltdowns), but on the other hand is bad (no big, emotional "aha" moment). It just was. 

This course was the same as the Halloween Halfathon I ran in October, so I knew it was a flat, somewhat boring course. Thankfully, many people wore green in some form or another or dressed up. That added some excitement.

Even though I had running group friends there, they were all doing the 5K (aside from our speedy coach, Pila). So, I was on my own. 

The course is a 3-mile loop (the 5K course) that leads to a 5-mile out-and-back portion. It's along the beach, but you rarely see the water. 

I started off and pretty quickly had some calf pain. I'm not sure what was up with that, but after the first mile, it went away. 

Mile 1: 11:34
Mile 2: 12:01
Mile 3: 11:34

I didn't really have a plan for the race. I just wanted to run and see what happened. I took my GU gel right before mile 5.

Mile 4: 11:14
Mile 5: 11:28
Mile 6: 11:33

Nothing good or bad happened. I kept running at a pretty consistent pace, and I felt fine.

Mile 7: 11:25
Mile 8: 11:28
Mile 9: 11:26

It was around mile 9 that I started attempting to calculate my finish time. I'm horrible at this! I lose all math skills while running. But, I started to think I was pretty close to my personal best of 2:30:54. I got a little excited, but I was still "eh" about the whole thing. I took my next GU gel close to mile 10.

Mile 10: 11:26
Mile 11: 11:12
Mile 12: 11:32

At this point, I was still looking good in terms of time. I was just tired. My legs and hips were over this whole running thing at this point.

Mile 13: 12:09 (Gah!)
Mile 0.19: 9:15 

I started beating myself up in mile 13 knowing that I was losing it. I was mad at myself for running my slowest mile at mile 13. I was really disappointed in my finish (finally, some emotion).

Almost to the finish ... and swinging my arm in front of me like
I've been told not to do.

My finish time: 2:31:44. Exactly 50 seconds behind that personal record. 

I got over my disappointment pretty quickly, realizing I couldn't do anything about it at that point. I felt like I did what I could to try and beat it (now, of course, I can find all kinds of ways to cut 51 seconds off my time ...). On that day at that time, that was my best. As much as I wish I could have been faster in mile 13, I wasn't. 

The green beer helped. 

And a sweet medal. 

And another sweet medal. If you completed the halfathon challenge (half marathons in October, December, January and March), you received an additional medal and a shirt. 

I love my collection.

I also love this race series. And, I'll be doing it again. 

Ever have a "blah" race? Ever miss a PR by seconds? Did you beat yourself up? Did you run a St. Patrick's Day race?

From excited to eh to excited

So, I have a half marathon this weekend.

And, I was really excited about it because I haven't ran a race in more than a month.

Now, I'm kind of eh. 

I had a disastrous run on Thursday night. Disastrous as in my stomach hurt, and I walked almost half of it. 

And, I don't feel like I've run a decent distance since the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in February. I think my longest "long" run was 7 miles. (I've been running consistently, but focusing more on hill work than distance.)

And, I know the course. It's the same course I ran for the Halloween Halfathon (in a Mr. Potato Head costume). And, I know it's boring. Flat, but boring. 

But, since it's on St. Patrick's Day, I'm getting festive again (and that makes any race better). 

And, I have some running group friends that will be at the race.

And, I'll be receiving this awesome medal. 

And, it will be my fourth halfathon in this series, which means an additional medal for completing them all.

 Oh, and beer after the race. 

OK, I'm excited now. I'm ready to race on Sunday!

Anyone else doing a St. Patrick's Day race? This is my first, but I love being festive! 

Tips for running hills

Living in super-duper flat Florida, I don’t know much about running hills. When I say “I don’t know much,” I basically mean I know absolutely nothing about it. Every training route I run and almost every race I run has no discernible hill.  

Until this race. And, I was petrified of it. Never running hills combined with basically knowing absolutely nothing about it and being faced with two gigantic bridges that I had to run over twice was scary. But, I actually made it up and over them and loved it.  

Of course, I’m probably lucky I did this without getting hurt and loving it as much as I did. Why?
In our training for the Iron Girl Half Marathon (which involves the same gigantic bridges), our coach gave us some tips for running uphill and downhill. Surprisingly, I followed all of the uphill running tips without even knowing them. Score!  

Tips on running uphill

• Lean into the hill 
• Shorten your stride 
• Increase your cadence 
• Look forward, not up the hill 
• Use your arms

But, the downhill tips are a different story. 

I wasn’t even worried about the downhill. I just thought I needed to control my speed by leaning backward. I knew you could get injured running downhill, and I just figured it was from going too fast. Turns out, I was wrong.

Tips on running downhill

• Lean forward, getting the body over the hips and ankles 
• Use your arms any way necessary (to help have a sense of balance) 
• Have a light touch with the foot 
• Have a higher cadence

It's just natural for me to lean backward to "brake" myself while running down a hill. This is exactly what I shouldn't be doing (hello, quad injuries waiting to happen). So, I'm retraining myself to lean forward. Instead of fighting momentum, I'm going to give into gravity and let it take me downhill. Seems so wrong, but it's right.

Do you follow these tips when running hills? What works for you? Do you have the urge to "brake" while running downhill?

Top 5 tips for running a destination race

I ran a destination race in January: the Carnival Classic Half Marathon in Long Beach, Mississippi (I live in the Tampa Bay area). Here are the top five things I learned about packing and traveling for a destination race.
 
1. Pack a variety of race outfits. I failed in this area ... miserably. I checked the weather forecast, and it was supposed to be cold. I knew I'd be wearing a jacket. I knew I'd be wearing ear warmers. I debated buying tights (thinking my capris would be too cold). Thankfully, I didn't buy the tights. Thankfully, I just borrowed some ear warmers from a friend. Unfortunately, I didn't pack a shirt I really liked ... a shirt that I like without a jacket covering it. I packed one long-sleeved shirt, one short-sleeved shirt and a jacket. I knew I'd be wearing the long sleeves with the jacket. I knew it. Of course, it ended up being much warmer than expected, and I definitely didn't need the jacket. I didn't even need the long sleeves. Unfortunately, all I needed was a short-sleeved shirt. That meant the shirt that I didn't like. The shirt I brought for a hotel gym workout. This shirt was not meant for race day when photos would be taken. Now my poor decision lives forever in photos. Sigh. Why I didn't pack more options, I do not know. I managed to pack three pairs of boots, but only a few options for running. Running clothes are light and do not take up much space. Pack a variety of options (and perhaps not so many pairs of boots), and don't dread seeing your race photos.

My poor decision lives on ...

2. Lie out your race clothes like it's the night before the race. I always set out my clothes before a race or even a long run. Mornings and I don't get along, and I like things to be simple when I wake up a few minutes before I need to head out the door. I set out my clothes (including sports bra, underwear, socks, watch and headband) and my fuel, along with my fuel belt (if needed). It cuts down on morning errors (that are all too common to me). But, to avoid my mistake of not having enough wearable options, make sure you put out a few options. Once you have the whole outfit (and all necessary supplies), pack it. Don't put it in the suitcase before it's all there; it makes it too easy to forget something otherwise. 

Race prep for the Women's Half Marathon

3. Arrive at least a day before your race (if it's a long drive or flight). My drive (8+ hours) was on top of a rough work week (the whole three days I worked). Driving is not my favorite form of transportation (give me a jet, baby) because I get bored and uncomfortable. And, the last thing I'd want to do after driving or riding that long is run. I need time to get quality sleep, stretch and mentally prepare for a race. Even if I flew, I think arriving at least a day before is still a good idea — just to get acclimated to the area and get properly rested and hydrated.

4. Get familiar with the area before the race. Fortunately, when I picked up my packet on a Friday (before the race on Saturday), it was almost at the race start. I learned how far it was from our hotel (I even timed it), and I asked about parking and the exact start line. If I didn't have packet pickup close to the start, I think I'd do a drive to and from the race site — to make me more comfortable on race day. You don't want to map it out, think it takes 20 minutes, and then find out that there is construction that will make it take double that.  

5. Plan your sightseeing (and fun food and drinks) for after the race. This trip involved a day trip to New Orleans. I made sure to save the Bloody Marys, hurricanes and beignets for after the race. I can't imagine walking all over New Orleans, eating and drinking those fun items and then running a half marathon. Yuck. Talk about sore legs, stomach issues and dehydration issues. You definitely want the sightseeing to be involved in a destination race since that's part of the appeal, but make sure to plan it wisely. 

Save this for after the race.

Have you run a destination race? Do you have any tips? You can run Iron Girl as a destination race! Sign up for my giveaway here.

I'm obsessed

I'm one of those people who easily becomes fixated on things. Right now, these are the things:

• Running races. I've run a race the last four weekends, and I'm a little sad I'm not running one this weekend. I want more. (If you're obsessed, too, check out my Iron Girl Half Marathon giveaway.)

• Soup for dinner. I'm not a huge soup fan normally. I like it, but I just don't eat it that often. The last two weeks, that has changed. Every night for dinner (yes, every night the last two weeks) I've made a soup consisting of beef broth, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and sriracha. Sometimes I'll throw in some additional vegetables, but it always contains those items. I just made it up, and now I want it for dinner every night.
• This song. I adore Bruno Mars, but I'm particularly really loving this song. Loving it as in listening to it 50+ times each day. That much.

• The OJ Simpson trial. I realize this is so 1995, but I am on a serious kick of reading trial books (the ones I haven't read yet) and watching documentaries. I think about it and analyze it constantly in my head. (I obviously need more hobbies.) I'm currently reading "OJ is Innocent, and I Can Prove it." I'm not done with the book yet, but I'm still leaning toward OJ being guilty. 

Do you become obsessed with things? Do you like soup? Can you eat the same thing every day for weeks? Do you like Bruno Mars? Do you think OJ is innocent or guilty?

Every girl has an iron core

Since it's Valentine's Day, I want you to show some love ... to you.
 
How?
 
Join me, along with many other empowered and awesome women (and many Tampa Bay bloggers), at the Iron Girl Clearwater Half Marathon and 5K on April 14. Let's run this and rock this together!

It doesn't matter if you run super fast or at turtle speed. Iron Girl empowers, encourages and supports women of all athletic abilities.

I've never run Iron Girl, but I did run a race with a similar course. I know I, along with many others, was scared of the bridges.

But, do not be afraid. These bridges are big; they are difficult to run up. But, you'll feel incredible when you get to the top. You'll feel empowered. You'll realize you're stronger than you realized. You'll feel like an Iron Girl.

And you'll have an incredible view.

You know you want to come to an all-woman running party. You know you want to start your journey today to become an Iron Girl.

Since it's Valentine's Day, I want to show some love to you, too. How about starting your journey knowing you have a free half marathon race entry? Pretty rockin', right? Enter, win and run with me! (Well, you don't have to run with me ... we'll just be at the same race (if that's the way you'd prefer it)). 

Here are the race details:

April 14, 2013
Clearwater, FL
Women's-only half marathon and 5K
7:00 a.m. half marathon start
7:30 a.m. 5K start

Enter to win a half marathon entry here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
* Iron Girl is providing a free half marathon race entry to one woman. The giveaway ends February 21 at 11:59 p.m. EST. My opinions are my own and were not influenced by any form of compensation.

Six things I learned from my sixth half marathon

Apparently, I'm a slow learner.  It took me until my sixth half marathon (the Clearwater Halfathon ... otherwise known as the race with the big, scary bridges) to finally learn something. Well, six somethings.

1. Don't let your fears hold you back. I was scared (extremely scared) of the big bridges in this race. I panicked. I wondered if I should do the race. Was I ready to run these bridges? I didn't think so. I can't lie: I thought about not doing it. I wanted to wimp out. Thankfully, I didn't. And, guess what? I ran those bridges (slowly) and loved them. I felt so accomplished and proud when I was done, too. Totally worth it.  

2. Trust your training. I was nervous that I didn't get enough running in between Christmas and the new year. I missed some runs here and there, including a few long runs. I assumed that I wouldn't be able to handle this race. You know what? All of the hard work I've been putting in since August didn't just disappear. I still had that base, and I could still run a half marathon. 

Four months of sweaty work (apparently, sticking
my tongue out is my thing?)

3. Run your own race. Yes, I've heard this many times before. I never get caught up in the initial start. I always start at the back, and I start slow. No big deal. But, in this race, I encountered a bridge before mile 1. So many people were walking already. I wondered if I should walk, too. If I ran, I thought I might be sorry later on. But, I felt awesome, and I wanted to run that bridge, so I did. And, the next one. And, on the way back, too. Why? Because it was my race, and I knew I could do it. 

4. Don't give up. I did not feel great during this race. I wanted to turn around at the 5K turnaround and at the 5-mile turnaround. It was just not my race, I thought at the time. Thankfully, I stuck it out, and it became one of my best races ever.

5. Enjoy your surroundings. It's easy to get "in the zone" or so focused that you really don't notice anything around you. But, if you look around, you're likely to see something beautiful, funny or awesome. I enjoyed the views in this race more than any race before, and instead of dreading the bridges, I just enjoyed the views from the top.

6. Think of those who can't run. This race was special to me because I was running mile 11 in honor of my friend, Linda. She's been couch-bound for a good deal of her pregnancy, and she was itching to run. Mile 11 was her mile, and I thought about her each step. I enjoyed each step. I appreciated what I was doing even more because I was thinking of someone who couldn't do it. 

What have you learned from running?